WEBVTT 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:09.199 Thanks for downloading the FBC Elder Rado term podcast. 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:13.439 The term you're about to listen to as part of a series called LivePath. 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:21.280 In this series, we are looking for Christ-centered solutions to everyday problems. 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:28.320 I hope the messages in this series are encouragement to you as you try to follow Christ every day. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:38.240 Now that the youngest of the kiddos have exited, I have some bad news that I want to share with everyone this morning. 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:40.240 Um summer's almost over. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:56.640 And I can reflect on this summer and I'm reminded of all the awesome things God has done in our church through events like Vacation Bible School and Camp Haven, our mission trips to Myrtle Beach and Nicaragua. 00:00:56.799 --> 00:00:59.359 It has been an amazing summer. 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:04.480 But throughout all those amazing moments during the summer, do you know what? 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.359 It's been really hot and humid in El Dorado, hasn't it? 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:14.560 Yeah, it's been like oppressive to even walk outside on most days. 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:22.879 And so maybe you try to beat the heat in South Arkansas by uh taking uh a dip in the pool or maybe a romp through the sprinkler. 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:32.719 And in my estimation, kind of the perfect summer treat after you get out of the pool or after you've run through the sprinkler is a popsicle. 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:37.920 Specifically, my favorite popsicle is a rocket pop, red, white, and blue. 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:59.200 But listen, moms and dads, you really you need to be aware because if you give your child a popsicle or you eat a popsicle and you're not careful, soon enough that popsicle will melt and you will have this very uh faint sticky glaze over every doorknob and handle and remote control in your home, won't you? 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:02.079 But but what you should think about is doing this. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:05.760 The next time you pass out popsicles, put them inside of a muffin tin, right? 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:17.599 Because that muffin tin, as the popsicle melts, it's gonna catch all of that sugary sweetness that could then be found throughout your home. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:25.199 It's gonna prevent the red dye from staining your fingers and then staining the fabric of your couch. 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:32.960 Of course, with some are winding down, that also means that college students are eagerly looking forward to that return to campus. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:40.800 Now, for college freshmen, let me prepare you for something that's gonna occur when you go to your college dorm room for the very first time. 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:45.439 It's not gonna be as big as your room at mom and dad's house. 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:58.639 And listen, your closet is also going to be smaller, and so you're gonna be thinking, how can I get all of my clothes and all of my shoes and all of my bags and backpacks and everything that I have into this very small closet? 00:02:58.800 --> 00:02:59.919 Well, here's an idea for you. 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:15.199 All you need to do is collect the uh the tabs off your favorite uh soft drinks, and then you can link hangers together in a vertical line, and you get more clothes hanging in a single space. 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:16.639 What a great idea. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:21.919 Now, here's the other thing you're gonna notice when you move into that freshman dormant college. 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:24.080 It's not gonna smell great. 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:30.719 It's gonna smell kind of musty, it's gonna have a really strong odor, but don't worry, don't worry about it. 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:51.360 Go get a box fan at Walmart, and then all you need to do is put a dryer sheet on the back of that box fan, and and the airflow through that box fan, it's gonna keep the dryer sheet attached to it, and it's gonna make your room smell like a fresh load of your favorite uh bath towels. 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:52.719 Who doesn't like that? 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:56.879 Now, listen, it's not gonna eliminate the odor, it just masks the odor. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.719 Or who doesn't love an end-of-the-summer cookout? 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:09.840 Get all your friends together before everybody goes back to school, but you got a problem, your grill is dirty, and the store is out of all your uh favorite cleaning products. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:13.199 So here's an idea: all you need to do, buy an onion at the store. 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:16.480 They always have plenty of onions, they're never out of onions. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:27.279 Cut that onion in half, preheat your grill, and then the enzymes on that onion, what it do, what it will do is it will break up the grit and grime on those grill grates. 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:32.240 But there's another problem if you have everybody over uh for an end of the summer cookout. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.000 We have these things called mosquitoes in South Arkansas, don't we? 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:39.120 And sometimes they are as large as helicopters. 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:42.399 And maybe you don't want to buy some of those toxic chemicals. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:47.680 So, another idea, when you're buying that onion, also get uh four to six limes. 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:59.120 All you gotta do is cut those limes in half and place whole cloves into the flesh of those limes and put them on the table, and it will be a natural repellent against mosquitoes. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:02.399 Listen, I've never tried that, I just read about it on the internet. 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:04.480 It may or may not work. 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:14.800 I'm actually not that hopeful about the mosquito repellent because mosquitoes are some of the most um diligent insects in all the insect world. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.680 If you've ever met a mosquito, and I know you have. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:25.040 So each of the solutions I just shared with you is an example of what we call a life hack. 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:32.399 A life hack is simply this it's a creative solution for an everyday problem. 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:36.000 A creative solution for an everyday problem. 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:45.360 The the terminology life hack is a fairly recent innovation, but life hacks have been around for centuries. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:56.000 Um, your grandmother, listen, you would have a cough or a cold, and your grandmother, she wouldn't go to the pharmacy to get you medicine. 00:05:56.399 --> 00:06:07.279 Instead, she'd pull together a few different things out of the cabinet, mix them all together in a jar, whisk it up, and tell you to drink it, and it worked like a charm. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:09.920 It wasn't approved by the FDA. 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:12.480 That's a life hack. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:27.920 Or your dad, uh, growing up, you remember as a child, your dad, when he was posed with the problem, all he needed was a roll of duct tape, a hammer, and a little bit of time, and he could figure out how to fix the problem. 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:30.399 Your dad was a life hacker. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:41.600 People use life hacks like the ones I mentioned to make their life more efficient, to make their life easier, to make their life more productive. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:45.600 But let's all be honest this morning. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:58.639 The problems you actually face on a daily basis are much bigger than the trail of sugary glaze that's left by a melting popsicle. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:12.800 The problems you face on a daily basis, man, they far are far greater than just having a closet that's too small or mosquitoes ruining your party. 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:24.319 Most of the life hacks that you uh read about on the internet or watch on YouTube, they kind of address problems that occur on the very surface of life. 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:36.000 But what you and I know is that the actual problems that we really need to address, they occur at the core of our being. 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:40.319 They they reach far beyond the surface of life. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:52.959 And those life hacks we read about on the internet or watch on YouTube, they often just give us these uh creative one-step, everything's taken care of answers. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:08:00.000 But in our life, the problems that are actually problems, they're far more complex. 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:03.759 They require uh repetition. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:09.199 They often involve a process if we want to have a solution. 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:21.120 Sure, creative solutions are just fine if the problem you're trying to address is nothing more than really an annoyance or an inconvenience in life. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:28.720 But if you and I want to address the actual problems of life, we need to get beneath the surface. 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:32.879 We need something other than a creative solution. 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:37.200 We need a Christ-centered solution. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:52.080 So today we're beginning this series of messages called life hacks as we apply ancient wisdom from God's word to the everyday real problems we face in the modern world. 00:08:52.399 --> 00:09:04.000 And as we apply this ancient wisdom to the modern world, to the real problems we face on a daily basis, here's what we hope to uncover some biblical life hacks. 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:09.360 Biblical life hacks, listen, are Christ-centered solutions for everyday problems. 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:17.919 Where we bring Christ to bear on the very real problems that we face. 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:25.759 Some of the problems we're going to talk about over the course of this series, we're going to talk about the problem of time. 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.759 Yeah, I think a lot of us have a problem with time. 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:35.840 Because it never feels like we have enough, and we all struggle to prioritize it. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.279 I think a lot of us have a problem with work. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:56.399 Either our job isn't fulfilling, or when we go to job, we're just absolutely our job, we're absolutely lazy, or when we uh go to our job, um we just don't enjoy it. 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:58.879 We're we're looking for something else. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:02.000 And I think all of us we have a problem with worry. 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:12.000 I can't even begin to name all the ways that we worry when we wake up every single morning, and we have a problem with thoughts. 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:13.200 Yeah. 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:21.919 Often our thoughts dominated by things like uh anger and lust and greed, jealousy. 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:45.919 And the reason we need a biblical life hack, the reason we need a Christ-centered solution for these very real problems, is because only bringing Christ to bear on our life will allow you and I to become the man, the woman that God created us to be. 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:50.480 But I want to give you a warning at the beginning of this series. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:58.240 So the life hacks that you read on the internet, you watch on YouTube, they promise they can make your life easier. 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:07.360 Now you need to be warned because a Christ-centered solution, a biblical life hack, never promises it will make your life easier. 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:15.919 In fact, some biblical life hacks actually make our life more difficult and more trying. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.879 They actually bring some hardship upon us. 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:25.919 Jesus even tells us in the New Testament we have to count the cost, we have to pick up our cross and follow him. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:36.320 And also those life hacks that we read about in our culture, they tell us that we're gonna be more efficient and more productive. 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:40.720 Again, not a promise that Jesus makes to us. 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:46.000 Instead, Jesus says, if you'll bring me to bear on your life, here's what I can tell you it's gonna happen. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:58.159 It's not about uh more efficiency, it's about greater faithfulness, it's not about greater productivity, it's about sanctification, it's about holiness occurring in your life. 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:09.200 Yeah, when we apply and bring Christ to bear on the problems we face every single day, these very real problems, we become like Him. 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:21.279 So, in week one, I thought we should talk about what I believe to be the biggest problem that each of us face on a daily basis. 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:36.799 And listen, our biggest problem isn't somewhere out there, it's not someone else, it's not something going on in our world or something going on in our nation. 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:46.000 It's not even what someone would do to us, our biggest problem every day, not someone out somewhere out there, it's it's in here. 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:47.519 Yeah. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:59.759 Our biggest problem on a daily basis that we need to apply this Christ-centered solution to is the human heart. 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:04.320 We need to hack the human heart. 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:10.000 So, first, let's identify and ask the question what's the problem? 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:11.600 What's the problem? 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:14.240 That's the whole reason you need a hack, right? 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:15.840 Is you have to know the problem. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.080 There has to be a problem that exists. 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:26.080 The prophet Jeremiah uh describes the problem with the human heart this way, Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 9. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:36.000 He says, the human heart is the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked. 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:41.519 Who really knows how bad it is? 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:53.360 With that single verse, Jeremiah highlights one of the most prevalent themes found throughout Scripture: the centrality of the human heart. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:59.759 Biblical authors uh they mention the human heart right around a thousand times. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:12.399 Occasionally, when the biblical writer mentions the heart, that author is speaking about that four-chambered uh blood-pumping muscle in the human chest. 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:18.000 There's a story in 1 Samuel chapter 25 about a man named Nabal. 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:21.519 And Nabal receives some uh unfortunate news. 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:33.200 He receives a report, and the author of 1 Samuel tells us that Nabal in that moment, his heart fails and he becomes like a stone in that moment. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:39.360 It sounds like based upon what Nabal hears, he suffers a massive heart attack. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:42.639 Like his physical heart gives out. 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:48.399 And occasionally the biblical authors are talking about that physical heart. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:56.799 But more often, um, the biblical writer, when they mention the human heart, it's a metaphor. 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:06.879 It's a catch-all term that includes your mind, your emotions, your spirit, and your will. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:14.480 Your heart, then, according to the writers of scripture, is the control center of your person. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:33.600 Out of your heart issue forth every thought that you have, every desire, every emotion, every behavior, every habit, every purpose you feel in life, every motivation you follow in life, all of that comes out of the heart. 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:41.759 Or the writer Dallas Willard describes the heart this way. 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:42.639 Listen to what he says. 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:44.000 I love this summary statement. 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:50.080 He says, the function of the heart is to organize life as a whole. 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:54.399 And indeed, to organize it around God. 00:15:55.759 --> 00:16:01.360 A great part of the disaster of contemporary life lies in the fact that it is organized. 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:02.559 That's the heart. 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:06.720 It is organized around feelings. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:09.120 Think about that. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:20.720 We organize our thoughts, our emotions, our desires, our habits, everything that issues forth out of us, that's our heart. 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:23.840 We organize it around our feelings. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:44.559 How something will make me feel later on, how something will make me feel in the moment, how something may make someone else feel as a result of that action, we organize our heart around feelings. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:49.360 And that gets us in trouble. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:53.120 That gets us in a lot of trouble, doesn't it? 00:16:54.720 --> 00:17:02.320 Because as Jeremiah says, this heart where our feelings come out of, this heart is what? 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:05.440 Most deceitful. 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:07.440 Most deceitful. 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:11.279 Think about that phrase, most deceitful. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:19.920 The heart, in essence, tells us lie after lie after lie after lie after lie. 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:29.680 The heart tells us little white lies and big bold lies. 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:48.079 You probably noticed that in um recent election cycles, after a candidate gives a speech, or after candidates debate one another, that the news coverage always has someone on their panel who is called a fact checker. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:49.359 Right? 00:17:49.839 --> 00:18:01.839 A fact checker, someone who takes what the person, the candidate said, and compares what they said to what we know to actually be true. 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:14.960 And across both sides of the aisle, what appears to happen is that most of the time, what is true and what is a lie, it's basically 50-50. 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:15.839 Right? 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:24.160 A lot of lies are told, and we're supposed to believe that they are true. 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:30.720 Now, of course, those you know, politicians, maybe they don't know that they're lying. 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:31.839 I don't know. 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:34.720 Or maybe they do, I don't know either. 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:46.240 But here's the thing at some level, maybe they tell a lie to get elected, but at another level, the reason that they lie is because their heart's like, my heart. 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:50.480 It's most deceitful. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:53.359 So they need a fact checker. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:19:00.799 And just like that man or woman needs a fact checker, you and I, we need a fact checker. 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:09.359 Your heart needs the truth of scripture to fact check the lies that it tells itself. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:18.480 I want to point out, I think just a series of lies, I think we often tell ourselves that the human heart speaks. 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:20.079 Lie number one. 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:25.200 If everybody's doing it, it must be okay. 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:29.200 If everybody's doing it, it must be okay. 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:39.920 The heart tells us that lie because the heart wants us to kind of make our home within a culture. 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:49.440 Our heart wants us to find comfort in the culture and not to stand opposed to the culture and stand apart from the culture. 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:55.039 The heart wants a hassle-free life. 00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:59.920 So if everybody's doing it, it's gotta be okay. 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:19.680 Yet when you fact-check that statement with God's word, we're reminded 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 9, you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:30.880 Over and over, 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 9 just makes it clear, you are different than the world, than the culture that surrounds you. 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:39.519 Another lie I think we hear from the heart is just the lie, I've got this, I've got this. 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:48.720 Here's the thing: I think we really like to live compartmentalized lives because that's how uh we try to make life manageable. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:54.480 And maybe we make life into two kind of big compartments. 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:59.519 Stuff that I can manage on my own and I don't need God's help with. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:15.279 And that could be work, that could be your family, that could be your friends, that could be your finances, like anything where you feel competency, you're like, God, I got this. 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:28.319 And you only allow God into those pieces and parts of your life where you feel a little incompetent, and you're you're pretty um reluctant to admit that incompetence. 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:33.119 So you let God into your life if you come on a Sunday morning, right? 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:37.359 Because, well, you're with God's people in God's house, like, I'll let you in, God. 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:48.079 Or you let God into your life when maybe a tragedy occurs, or you let God into your life when um you have a big decision that you need to make. 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:56.000 But if those things don't occur, if life is just kind of bouncing along, beboping along, and everything's going well, you just say, I've got this. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:57.119 I'm good. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.599 We tell ourselves that lie, and then scripture says this. 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:08.160 Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:12.799 Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:19.519 Psalm 127, verse 1 just says, You don't got it. 00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:28.400 No matter how competent you feel, builders know how to build, and guards know how to stand watch. 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:30.319 That's their training. 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:37.839 But unless God's a part of it, unless God's invited in, it's all in vain. 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:41.440 Maybe another lie would just be this one. 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:42.960 No one will ever know. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:45.359 No one will ever know. 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:50.880 That's the lie the heart speaks when we're on the threshold of sin, isn't it? 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:54.000 No one's ever gonna see, no one's ever gonna know. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:22:58.480 No one's in this room with me. 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:00.960 No one's watching over my shoulder. 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:04.720 But God knows. 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:12.160 Psalm 139, verse 1, no one, um Psalm 139 says, You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:13.279 God knows. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:17.519 And also I'd say I would say this: um, your family will know. 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:20.000 Your friends will know. 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:34.079 They may never be able to name a specific sin or a specific kind of destructive habit in your life, but they will see your character change and they will experience the consequence of that character change. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:36.079 They will know. 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:37.839 You can't hide it. 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:42.720 Another lie we say is I can have it all. 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:43.920 Yeah. 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:49.039 I can have it all, I can do it all, I can experience it all, I can say yes to everything. 00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:51.440 I'll have to give up nothing. 00:23:54.319 --> 00:24:02.960 Yet Jesus says in Matthew chapter 10, verse 39, whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:05.519 You can't have it all, guys. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:07.839 You gotta lose something. 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:15.119 And there may be a lie that you say to yourself, you hear is nobody loves me. 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:23.279 Man, we live in a culture that denigrates the worth of people. 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:24.960 Right? 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:29.440 We live in a culture that says love is earned. 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:47.039 We live in a culture that doesn't have the perspective of God when it comes to everyone in this room and everyone in our community that people are created and loved by God. 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:52.480 And when we hear that lie over and over, it causes us to isolate ourselves. 00:24:53.519 --> 00:25:00.079 It causes us to doubt ourselves, it causes us to feel like we are unworthy, we are unlovable. 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:11.920 We believe like there is something like innately wrong with us in the sense of like, I'm not worthy to have friends, I'm not worthy to have a family, I'm not worthy to know a God who loves me when we hear that lie, nobody loves me. 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:18.559 But scripture says that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:22.640 You are created and loved by God. 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:30.079 Those are just five of the lies that I think the human heart often speaks. 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:35.759 Maybe one of those just resonated really deeply with you. 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:39.839 Or you have may have your own lie that you want to add to that list. 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:49.759 And what happens in our heart is if we just leave those lies unattended, the wickedness grows. 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:55.759 Because that lie, what it does is it produces a hardness of heart. 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:08.000 Can you see the presence of this problem in your everyday life when it comes to the lies spoken by the human heart? 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:15.599 Just think about your actions and your reactions and your habits and your attitudes. 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:23.440 Do they reflect the lies of the heart or the fact-checking truth of God's word? 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:28.799 And it's my assumption that all of us are dealing with this problem. 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:32.559 I know all of us are dealing with this problem on varying levels. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:34.640 No one's immune to it. 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:41.200 Which means that all of us, we need to seek out this Christ-centered solution together. 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:48.240 And we find that solution in the words of another prophet in the Old Testament, this time the prophet Ezekiel. 00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:51.599 God speaks these words to the prophet Ezekiel. 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:54.079 Ezekiel 36, verse 26. 00:26:54.640 --> 00:27:01.039 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:11.359 I will take out your stony, stubborn heart, and give you a tender, responsive heart. 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:22.240 In December of 1967, a man named Lewis lay on an operating table in Cape Town, South Africa. 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:28.240 Lewis was only 53 years old, but he was suffering the effects of chronic heart disease. 00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:40.960 His doctors had tried every treatment, and the only treatment that was left available to Lewis was a revolutionary new treatment never successfully before performed on a human, the heart transplant. 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:42.480 Dr. 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:49.920 Christian Bernard was the doctor who was tasked to perform that heart transplant on Lewis. 00:27:50.960 --> 00:28:02.000 And with great precision, the doctor removed that ailing, failing heart and gave Lewis, lying on that table, a new heart. 00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:07.599 The promise and the potential of modern medicine had reached a new standard. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:13.440 Something had been fulfilled that had been dreamed of and talked about and believed possible. 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:20.240 Yet thousands of years before, a far greater promise was fulfilled. 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:27.599 Through the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God gives us a new heart. 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:44.000 In effect, Jesus looks at Nicodemus and says, Nicodemus, your heart is ailing and failing. 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:45.279 You must be born again. 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:47.519 You need a new heart. 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:53.519 And you can only have that new heart when you place your faith in Jesus Christ. 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:57.039 When you receive that free gift of salvation. 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:01.920 Listen, your old heart lies to you. 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:07.519 But a new heart given to you by Jesus can tell the truth. 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:17.440 Because now Jesus Christ, Ephesians 3, verse 17 tells us, Jesus Christ dwells in your heart by faith. 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:22.400 And that's the Christ-centered solution some of us need to apply today. 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:28.880 We need to put our faith in Jesus Christ for the very first time and to be born again and to receive a new heart. 00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:38.000 A heart that Ezekiel says is tender and responsive. 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:41.440 A heart that's tender and responsive. 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:45.599 Think about those two words, tender and responsive. 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:52.559 Ezekiel is describing a heart that is first aware of God's presence. 00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:59.759 Ezekiel then describes a heart that obeys God's direction. 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:14.480 And I think those two words, tender, responsive, describe the second way that we can apply a Christ-centered solution to the human heart. 00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:20.240 So many of us in this room, we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ. 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:23.039 We've received that free gift of salvation. 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:27.279 But we're like a physical heart transplant. 00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:31.440 There's some rejection going on in our body. 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:42.240 Instead of tender, our heart, it just seems it's cold to the presence of God. 00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:46.559 Instead of responsive, our heart ignores the direction of God. 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:50.880 And that's why we continue to listen to some of those old lies. 00:30:53.759 --> 00:30:59.599 If the Christ-centered option then is a tender, responsive heart, how do we nurture that? 00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:06.559 How do we develop and cultivate that tender, responsive heart in our lives? 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:15.440 So there's this practice that's been a habit of Christians for centuries, and it's called the daily exam. 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:18.400 Or maybe they call it the daily review. 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:32.240 It's a prayer that happens at the end of the day when a person says, God, help me see the places where you were with me, and help me to know myself. 00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:35.759 Help me to see my heart. 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:42.640 The first part of the prayer is the examine of consciousness. 00:31:44.559 --> 00:32:02.000 During that part of the prayer, what a person does is they just take a few moments and they ask God to pinpoint all the ways where God was present throughout the course of the last 24 hours. 00:32:05.200 --> 00:32:06.559 Where was God present? 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:08.640 Where was God leading? 00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:15.440 And at the end of the day, God pinpoints those moments and makes you aware of those times. 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:17.119 And what's the goal in that moment? 00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:19.279 To give you a tender heart. 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:30.400 A heart that's aware over those 24 hours of every day where God is at work and where God is leading and where God is present and where God is active. 00:32:33.119 --> 00:32:43.279 And the second part of the prayer is an examine of conscience, where, again, at the end of the day, we just say, God, replay this last 24 hours for me. 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:56.880 And God, as you replay those last 24 hours, will you put a spotlight on those moments when my mind, when my attitude, when my action, when my heart didn't exhibit the character of Christ? 00:32:57.119 --> 00:33:02.640 When my heart didn't demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:14.240 A heart that says yes to God. 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:19.519 That can be hard. 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:23.519 Because when you ask God to highlight those moments, here's what you can't do. 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:26.319 You can't defend and you can't rationalize. 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:31.440 You can't mitigate and say, oh, it wasn't that bad. 00:33:31.759 --> 00:33:33.279 Maybe it really was. 00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:46.319 Since the human heart is our biggest problem, I want us to take now just a few moments and to practice this prayer of examine. 00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:49.359 So I want you to find a posture of prayer, okay? 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:52.880 I want you to close your eyes and bow your head. 00:33:55.839 --> 00:33:59.119 We're going to do a prayer of examine right now. 00:33:59.440 --> 00:34:02.480 But I would invite you and encourage you to do it tonight before you go to bed. 00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:04.160 Do it tomorrow night before you go to bed. 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:06.240 Do it the next night before you go to bed. 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:31.519 Build it into your habit of your daily life and just spin now and invite God to go with you and say, God, in the last 24 hours, show me where you've been present and help me to see my life for what it is, and to be have a true self-knowledge of myself. 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:34.960 Invite God in to help you see. 00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:49.360 Show me, God, where you were leading and I was unaware. 00:35:54.159 --> 00:35:56.800 Make me tender to your presence. 00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:11.039 Ask God now to give you a true knowledge of yourself. 00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:26.159 Before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it completely. 00:36:35.039 --> 00:36:42.079 God, show me the attitudes and the actions and the moments when I did not exhibit the character of Christ. 00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:47.519 When I did not demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. 00:36:50.480 --> 00:36:52.800 Give me a responsive heart. 00:37:00.880 --> 00:37:09.280 And now confess where over the last twenty-four hours you fell short, those places God revealed to you. 00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:13.280 Confess and ask for forgiveness. 00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:38.079 Amen. 00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:40.400 Would y'all look at me? 00:37:40.880 --> 00:37:53.039 So remember what we said at the beginning of the service was that the life hacks that our culture offers us, they are life hacks that are one-time answers. 00:37:53.760 --> 00:38:02.239 They're simple, they're straightforward, but often these biblical life hacks that are Christ-centered solutions, it's a process. 00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:04.239 It requires repetition. 00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:08.239 It's a habit we have to build into our life. 00:38:08.960 --> 00:38:15.119 And this life hack, listen, this biblical life hack, the prayer of examine, it's not a self-help technique. 00:38:15.199 --> 00:38:16.159 It's not what it is. 00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:24.000 It's not self-help because we're inviting God into our lives. 00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:33.679 Because only God address the problem that ails the human heart. 00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:46.000 To invite God into that space day by day, moment by moment, hour by hour, trusting that He and He alone can give you a new heart. 00:38:46.159 --> 00:38:47.119 A heart that is what? 00:38:47.199 --> 00:38:50.480 Hear those words again, tender and responsive. 00:38:51.360 --> 00:38:53.840 Tender and responsive. 00:38:55.840 --> 00:39:00.960 But again, there are those who are here this morning that need a new heart. 00:39:02.960 --> 00:39:06.880 Your heart, as described by Jeremiah, is ailing and failing. 00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:08.559 You must be born again. 00:39:09.840 --> 00:39:16.719 And my invitation to you this morning is: will you put your faith in Jesus Christ? 00:39:17.360 --> 00:39:21.840 Will you trust Him to be Lord and Savior of your life? 00:39:23.039 --> 00:39:24.960 Let's stand together. 00:39:28.079 --> 00:39:35.199 Father, we thank you for the truth of your word and the ways you have spoken to us today. 00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:42.079 Make our hearts tender and responsive to you. 00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:58.960 And give boldness to those who need to put their faith today in Jesus Christ, that they would come forward and we can share with them the good news of the gospel.